Richard Harris

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British actor Stephen Moyer has detailed his battle with alcoholism for the first time to encourage fellow recovering addicts not to feel ashamed of their faults. The True Blood star has been sober for 14 years and on Friday (27Feb15), he agreed to share his addiction experiences with others as part of a panel discussion at the CLARE Foundation, a non-profit treatment facility in Santa Monica, California.
Moyer, who has served as a CLARE boardmember for the past five years, has previously only briefly discussed his sobriety, but he addressed his past troubles in depth for the first time at the event, revealing he used to think nothing of following in the hard-drinking footsteps of his acting heroes, Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Oliver Reed, because going for a booze after work was the thing to do.
He explained, "There's this rush that happens from doing our job, this whirring buzz, and you want to continue that buzz."
Moyer soon realised he had a problem and subsequently checked himself into a British rehab facility.
He has been working with other embattled individuals to help them tackle similar issues ever since and he believes a key part of overcoming such troubles is speaking openly about it to remove the stigma of addiction, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He said, "Self-loathing motivates the desire to get loaded (drunk) in the first place, and post-sobriety, there is the shame of admitting all of your (faults). It's about education. And it's about getting rid of that shame."
Moyer claims speaking openly about his alcoholism has prompted waiters at local restaurants in his Los Angeles neighbourhood to take note, and now they know just to bring him a diet soda whenever he goes out to eat with his wife Anna Paquin.
He added, "The Diet Coke, which is the Patron Saint of drinks for alcoholics, gets put before me before anyone even asks what we're drinking."

Gay rights film Pride dominated the British Independent Film Awards on Sunday (07Dec14), taking home three prizes, including Best Film. The movie, based on the true story of lesbian and gay activists in the U.K. during the 1980s, was feted with the coveted honour, as well as both supporting acting prizes for its stars Imelda Staunton and Andrew Scott.
Staunton's former Harry Potter co-star Brendan Gleeson and Gugu Mbatha-Raw were named the winners of the Best Actor and Actress prizes for their roles in Calvary and Belle, respectively.
Director Richard Linklater was on hand to accept the award for his acclaimed film Boyhood, which was named the Best International Independent Film, dedicating the honour to one of his inspirations, British moviemaker Lindsay Anderson.
Meanwhile, Yann Demange claimed Best Director for his feature film debut, Northern Ireland-set thriller '71, and Best Screenplay went to Frank duo Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan.
Special accolades were given to veteran actress Emma Thompson, who was presented with the prestigious Richard Harris Award to mark her contribution to the U.K. film industry, and The Imitation Game star Benedict Cumberbatch was given the Variety honour, which recognises an actor, director, writer or producer who has helped to focus the international spotlight on the U.K.

A man who sued members of Patti Labelle's entourage over an alleged airport attack in 2011 has lost his bid for a new trial. Richard King claimed he suffered traumatic brain injuries after an encounter with LaBelle's son and manager Zuri Edwards, bodyguard Efrem Holmes and hairdresser Norma Harris at the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Texas.
He alleged the injuries forced him to drop out of The United States Military Academy at West Point, but a federal judge cleared the defendants of any wrongdoing in September (14).
King appealed the ruling and demanded a new trial, insisting Harris' own testimony, in which she admitted to pushing him, should have been enough to find her guilty of assault.
But U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison, who presided over the trial, dismissed the motion on 14 November (14).
The Lady Marmalade hitmaker was initially named as a defendant in the original lawsuit, but her name was later dropped from the legal action.

Actress Emma Thompson will be honoured for her career achievements at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) in December (14). The Saving Mr. Banks actress will receive the Richard Harris Award, named after the late Harry Potter star, for her outstanding contribution to the U.K. film industry.
Thompson says, "I am so delighted to be receiving The Richard Harris Award... It is a very special award, in name of an incredible actor who inspired so many people during his career. I am honoured to follow in the footsteps of my peers who have received this award before me, and look forward to celebrating a fantastic year of British independent filmmaking."
Previous recipients include late actor Bob Hoskins, Sir Daniel Day-Lewis and Helena Bonham Carter.
Thompson will be handed the prize at a ceremony in London on 7 December (14).

Video taken moments before production assistant Sarah Jones was killed on the set of stalled Allman Brothers biopic Midnight Rider aired on U.S. news program 20/20 on Friday (31Oct14). Jones, 27, was struck by a train while the crew was filming on a trestle in Georgia in February (14) and on Friday, TV producers broadcast footage taken from a camera inside the locomotive as it speed down the track towards the production.
The video, shown once at normal speed and then slowed down, shows actors William Hurt and Wyatt Russell running off the trestle three seconds before impact.
In the report, it is noted that a hospital bed was placed across the tracks for a dream sequence and it was that prop that caused the Jones tragedy. Her parents' lawyer Jeff Harris says, "The train hits the bed and the bed flies up and apparently a portion of the hospital bed strikes Sarah and pushes her into the train."
The program also featured onset photographs, the emergency call plus testimonials from hairstylist Joyce Gilliard, who was also injured during the incident, and Jones' parents Richard and Elizabeth.
Production was halted following the accident.
Director Randall Miller, his producer wife Jody Savin, executive producer Jay Sedrish and first assistant director Hillary Schwartz are facing a civil lawsuit from Jones' parents plus criminal charges for involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass.
They have pleaded not guilty to the counts and are due to stand trial in March (15).
Rocker Gregg Allman, a producer on the film, was dropped from the civil lawsuit on Thursday (30Oct14).

Richard Harris' actor sons and granddaughter gathered in Limerick, Ireland at the weekend (24-26Oct14) to celebrate the late movie legend's life. Jared and Jamie Harris and Ella Harris were special guests at the second Richard Harris Film Festival in the late star's home town.
Transformers: Age of Extinction star Jack Reynor was the toast of the festival, picking up the Breakout Irish Actor honour.
Harry Potter star Harris died in October, 2002.

Harry Potter co-stars Sir Michael Gambon and Imelda Staunton are reuniting onscreen to help bring beloved children's character Paddington Bear to life in an upcoming movie. Gambon, who replaced the late Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore in the boy wizard films, will provide the voice of Uncle Pastuzo, while Staunton will play Aunt Lucy.
Skyfall actor Ben Whishaw will take on the title role in Paddington after Colin Firth walked away from the project earlier this year (14).
Another Harry Potter star, Julie Walters, will also be part of the cast, alongside Nicole Kidman, Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville and new Doctor Who Peter Capaldi.
The film, based on the books by author Michael Bond, is scheduled for release at Christmas (14).

Patti Labelle's entourage has scored a legal victory against a man who alleged he was attacked at an airport in Texas. Richard King claimed he was attacked at the Bush Intercontinental Airport in 2011 and was forced to drop out of The United States Military Academy at West Point because of his traumatic brain injuries, caused by LaBelle's son and manager Zuri Edwards, bodyguard Efrem Holmes and hairdresser Norma Harris.
The Lady Marmalade hitmaker was also included, but her name was dropped from the suit.
A federal judge absolved the case against the defendants on Tuesday (23Sep14).

Focus Features via Everett Collection
Though we can’t fault Laika for returning time and time again to the “misfit children” well, we’re beginning to worry if the studio isn’t dipping its bucket deep enough. Though it turned in two past entries worth remembering — Coraline was good, but just shy of great; ParaNorman was great, but just shy of excellent — and repeats this achievement with The Boxtrolls, its latest is perhaps the boldest evidence of Laika’s limiting trepidation.
The film actually turns the “misfit” gambit on its head, introducing a character who fits in so perfectly with his friends and family — a race of friendly subterranean hoarder goblins — that years pass before he realizes he’s not actually one of them. Eggs (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), so named for the box that guards his unseemly torso, is a young boy raised by the sweet and creative (but ultimately cowardice) Boxtroll family that lives below the misguided aristocracy of Cheesebridge, a town decidedly phobic of its underground neighbors. Led by a comically menacing vagabond with aspirations for glory (played with flair by Ben Kingsley), the Cheesebridgers agree to rid their streets and lives of the vile little creatures forever.
Focus Features
A few steps beyond the average 101 Dalmations rip-off, The Boxtrolls actually puts a great deal of energy into exploring the blurry dichotomy of good vs. evil, turning would-be mindless henchmen Trout and Pickles (Nick Frost and Richard Ayoade) into well-meaning patriots led astray by propaganda. But it doesn’t get too heady — Frost and (especially) Ayoade provide the biggest and most consistent laughs of the film. To their credit, Boxtrolls might be the funniest thing Laika has produced yet. The film, whose cast also includes a plucky and petulant Elle Fanning, a snooty and oblivious Jared Harris, and a thickheaded and maniacal Tracy Morgan, is eager to get especially wacky when it plays with the weird worlds of Boxtrolls and cheese-obsessed noblemen. But it’s just too darn afraid to get emotional.
The Boxtrolls barely scratches the surface of its characters’ relationships, which is particularly destructive to a story about family, understanding, and bravery. Instead of watching young Eggs’ relationship with his surrogate father Fish (a babbling Dee Bradley Baker) evolve, we hear prototypical speeches about being yourself, standing up for what’s right, and a few more all-purpose themes. The Boxtrolls’ goofiness is grade A, but it cuts through the hints of biting emotional material, rendering the ordeal about half as affective as it might have been. Drop your bucket deeper next time, Laika. You're so close to that masterpiece...
3.5/5
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